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Shard
| }} Shard is a member of the League of Salvation. Description Though he originally used only his ‘crystal form’ as a hero outfit, complaints about the noise he made whenever he moved soon prompted Aiden to take up a specially-tailored suit that opens and closes when he projects crystals, though a thin ‘second skin’ of two-millimeter-thick, compressed diamond covers vital areas as well. When ‘powered down’ Aiden has short, brown hair, generally unkempt, piercing, blue eyes, a fair complexion and a tall, athletic build. History Several years ago Aiden worked as a part-time freelance investigative journalist, and assistant in his parent's jewelry store. Whilst vacationing in Africa he stumbled upon an abandoned illegal diamond mine. He began to explore it to obtain photographic evidence, and discovered a long-buried meteorite. Touching it caused a full-body spasm of pain as Omega Radiation flooded from the meteorite into him. He clutched a nearby protruding diamond for support, and instantly the molecules of his body copied the crystalline structure of the diamond and imprinted it in his mind. When the pain had subsided he left to get a medical check-up, though there were no signs of physical damage. Some time later, an attempted mugging revealed that he had developed powers. At the last possible moment an inch-thick shield of diamond appeared on Aiden's chest to protect him from an oncoming bullet. After this he began to develop his powers, though initially he kept them a secret for fear of being shunned. Later he began using them frivolously for personal enjoyment, then profit after he took over the family business when his parents moved out of the city for health reasons. One day a trio of robbers tried to rob Aiden’s business. He dealt with them quickly enough, but not before a passing Lionheart noticed the thug flying out the open doorway with a broken jaw and two more being smacked down by a man apparently made of diamond. Initially Aiden (who thought up the name Shard on the spot) declined the invitation to join the League and risk his life on, at the very least, a weekly basis for people he didn’t know, but a somewhat ridiculous series of events later he more or less stumbled into helping Lionheart uproot a Coalition base that had been planning to poison the food at an embassy dinner and probably shatter the already-unstable US relations with the middle-east. This taste of the hero’s life left its mark on Aiden, who after some deliberation took up the mantle permanently. 'To Save the World!' When Sluice and Silver reached the Extinction Cannon Esp explained to the group that a number of shields would need to be deacivated from Technax's throne. Throwing a modified smoke bomb to distract Technax, Fade made for the throne. As he followed Esp's instructions Technax blasted a hole in the wall, creating a sudden suction as all of the throne room's air was sucked into space. Guardian X began to head toward the throne but Fade and Shard managed to slow it; Shard eventually pulled himself and it out into space. He was able to easily defeat the weakened guardian and hurl its remains towards the sun. At this point Silver's destruction of the Extinction Cannon triggered a massive explosion, which sent various pieces of debris flying towards Shard. He evaded the projectiles and travelled around the mothership, searching for a sign that the others were okay. After confirming that Esp had escaped safely, he made the descent towards Earth. He was caught by Surge, who brought him back to his home for coffee, where they discussed what had happened up on the mothership. 'The Intervening Years' Summary of what they did between RPGs. The World in Your Hands This character has not yet appeared in The World in Your Hands. Personality Aiden is still somewhat new to the life of a hero, and though his heart is in it he does not always have experience to draw upon. He is happy to improvise during a fight, though in other situations he prefers to have orders. Powers, Abilities, and Equipment Shard is capable of creating and controlling any crystalline substance (from diamonds to salt, and even ice crystals to an extent). He commonly uses this to project crystal spikes or other crystalline weapons/tools; create crystal paths across gaps or otherwise uncrossable surfaces; and project crystal ‘seeds’ into the ground to manipulate them further into larger constructs. While still connected to his body the crystal can last indefinitely, but when detached it crumbles and vanishes in a matter of hours. The size of these constructs is theoretically indefinite, but in practice they can only reach up to a certain mass before his concentration begins to falter. Shard can telekinetically control crystal matter, including his own crystal form for a limited degree of flight. Strangely, while crystal he generates spontaneously vanishes eventually, he can grow and shape any existing crystal matter and, if done through direct physical contact, it will remain that size and shape indefinitely, though it will fade as normal if done from a distance. He can also transmute his own body into a living ‘chemical cousin’ of diamond that retains a jagged, crystalline version of his own form, though he can modify it to an unknown degree. This crystal form grants him incredible strength and durability, but makes him slower than normal and very heavy. Finally he can compress and transmute earth, stone and unworked ore into a permanent crystal through physical contact, though the compression means that the size of it decreases noticeably, thus making this useful mostly for showing off or selling something. The energy used to create spontaneously his crystal constructs is drawn from the earth itself. Shard naturally, without even being aware of it (he’s never considered the matter) absorbs geothermic energy from the earth as far down as a mile below his feet. The process is very efficient, so he has yet to go without energy, largely because it continues even when he isn’t using his powers. In theory, if he were isolated from the earth (perhaps by imprisonment in an aerial environment) he would run out, but this has yet to occur. Category:League of Salvation Category:Half-Dragon